Of course end of support does not mean your sync tool of choice will stop functioning – it will happily continue to function, but an upgrade will be needed to ensure it remains in support from next year onward.

So get your upgrade boots on and get Azure AD Connect working which is the replacement for any of the previous sync tools and was released in 2015, the link above has further links for an in-place or swing upgrade – whatever floats your boat (in reality choose the method that suits your organisation, also test it first in non-Production!!!)

Azure AD Connect

Azure AD Connect essentially replaces any of the following you might still be running:

Dirsync

Azure AD Sync

Azure AD Connector

FIM 2012 R2

So seriously consider upgrading this side of Christmas, and not next Easter. You have been informed!

Like this:

QNAP make some pretty cool NAS storage products. However their after market support leaves a lot to be desired.

If your QNAP NAS device just works and never has problems then you are OK. When it goes wrong that’s when you seek support, and that’s when things get hairy.

the qNaP forum & community

Believe it or not I joined the QNAP forum in Sep 2014, just 2 months ago. A lot has happened in that 2 months. There appears to be no official corporate administrative users on the site on a regular basis, only for the Shellshock and Poodle vulnerabilities did one appear.

QNAP

The longest serving and most helpful/knowledgeable regular forum members are all pretty much pissed off big time. One has downed tools and refused to come back until QNAP get their act together. Others are angry, frustrated, bitter – you can tell by their replies/comments. This has the effect of putting off a lot of newer or returning users.

Internal private messaging was removed a few days after I joined. No warning, no advanced notice. Just removed. I had one single inbox email from a very helpful member with lots of links & advice for newbies like me – i lost that email because of QNAP. There are members accusing QNAP mods of sneakily deleting and managing forum posts (editing them!) but not actually contributing. The only official presence I have seen since last 2 months is an update on progress on a solution to Shellshock. QNAP official forum admins simply do not appear elsewhere.

The official qNAP support

Some of the recent experiences of forum users:

Looks like QNAP support was quite helpless in that case, not even pointing to the firmware recovery. I am very disappointed in their value — not able to do anything than sending the same email over and over again based on their procedure, and no escalation possible. I don’t think I’ll go with them again next time.

Others on the Forum have said:

I wrote to qnap, (ticket support) and one man say me: Your qnap has 5 years, and no have waranty, no support.

I opened a ticket but no response from the QNAP service team, so I thought I would try here.

That’s all they get for purchasing and sticking with a QNAP device.

The Last Word

If you are tech savvy, can fix problems with devices such as these, have some Linux experience and firmware update/recovery procedures – go ahead and purchase a QNAP. However if you are going to rely upon support or the forum – forget it.

Share this:

Like this:

About

Zulfs blog where you'll find bits of random info on tech, cars, trading and religion. All mashed up MongoDB style! Just to be very CLEAR all opinions are my own personal viewpoints and should not be taken as gospel without verification. Happy Kindling.

Blogroll

About

Zulfs blog where you'll find bits of random info on tech, cars, trading and religion. All mashed up MongoDB style! Just to be very CLEAR all opinions are my own personal viewpoints and should not be taken as gospel without verification. Happy Kindling.